Little Igneel Plush
by Blossom cat
Summary: Little Lucy noticed that a boy looked sad, crying on the ledge of a river. Being the kind hearted person she was, she decides to check it out. One-Shot.


**I'm not sure how to really articulate this..but I'll try anyway! I really wished Natsu and Lucy had at least one encounter when they were children, like a total accident or fluke they met and ended up forgetting the entire event or something. So I really wanted to write something on that, so here goes!**

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Lucy let go of her father's hand with a happy smile on her face as she pointed at something through a glass window. Her father and mother smiled and giggled while the small blonde pouted. Jude bent down and ruffled her hair, stepping into the thrift shop. Layla picked up the young Lucy and placed her on her hip while she looked around the small store. Layla laughed at the horrid expression her daughter suddenly made at a clown figurine.

"How much for the little dragon plush in the window?" The young girl overheard her father state. The old man running the store smiled kindly and stepped to the side and walked towards said item and picked it from the window display. He checked the tag taped to the dragon's tail and turned back to jude.

"Mm, well, for you Jude, how about two thousand jewel?" Jude shook his hands frantically.

"You don't need to knock down the price for me, lord knows It wouldn't hurt me financially." The old man grinned.

"Yes but you're my dear friend. I don't mind at all. And it's for your beautiful and kind daughter over there with your lovely wife. You have such a wonderful family..." he sighed happily, forgetting about their recent conversation. Jude sighed and nodded, thanking the man profusely. The blonde man handed over the neccessary jewel and took the red plush from the elder's hand and waved him goodbye as their family headed towards the door.

"Lucy, sweetheart, what do you say?" Layla piped up. Lucy stiffened and looked behind her and grinned at the old man. Crushing the plush to her chest.

"Thank you!" They all had a good laugh while she giggled herself.

"Oh it's my pleasure dear! Take care of yourself now. Especially you Layla dear..." the man's smile disappeared for a moment and so did Layla's. She had blurted out her sudden sicknesses to the man while picking up a present for Lucy for her birthday last year. He offered her tons of medicine and remedies, but she stated that it was far too late. She hated to think that her days on earth were numbered now. But she supposed that was the way life was.

Lucy's mother looked at her child and then her husband. Their family was perfect and she didn't want to break that. At least not right now. So she would keep her illness internalized until she physically couldn't anymore. She squeezed her husband's hand and laid her head onto his shoulder.

He smiled fondly and led them to a small park. The sun was going to set soon, but Lucy really wanted to play on the swing sets with her toy before they had to leave. Her parents sat on a nearby bench and watched Lucy as she laughed loudly while climbing on the playground. Finally going to the set of her desires, she set her dragon toy on the ground next to the swings and started to go back and fourth. Going so high she could see over the hill they were currently on.

She noticed a pink haired boy sitting on the rivers ledge. She noticed how he repeatedly wiped his eyes while he shook. She frowned and slowed her movements. Abruptly stopping, she gathered up her dragon and ran towards her parents who watched her the entire time. She was out of breath so she only pointed towards the boy. Her parents frowned and looked at each other for a moment in confusion.

"Honey you need to clarify what you're talking about." Layla explained. Finally catching her breath she looked down at her toy.

"There's a boy over there who looks pretty sad. Can I go talk to him?" Jude looked skeptical at first and was ready to decline. Only stopping when a hand landed on his shoulder. He turned to his wife as she gave him a look while shaking her head. The man sighed and planted a hand on his daughter's head. He nodded his head with a smile.

"Okay, but don't go any farther than that. We'll be right here okay?" She smiled and nodded, running off to the boy. She only slowed down when she saw him in plain view. He sniffled loudly and wiped his tears away once more. She declined down the hill carefully as she could trip and fall. Now standing right behind him, she reached out her hand. Only to stop when he spoke up.

"Get the hell away from me Gray! You too Erza!" She squeaked and retracted her hand quickly. Hearing the girly noise, he snapped his head back to see the blonde girl he mistook for his friend. He blinked blankly as more tears ran down his face. She on the other hand, gulped nervously. She honestly didn't think she was going to get this far, now she doesn't know what to do.

"Uhm...why were you crying?" Lucy murmured shyly. The boy snarled and turned away from the girl.

"It's none of your business. Who are you anyway, I've never seen any kid like you around here before?!" Lucy flattened out her dress before sitting next to him in the ledge of the river. She set her dragon next to her and played with the hem of her pink pastel outfit.

"Well my name is Lucy Heartfilia. I don't go into town all that often, I live on an estate. Whatever that is." The boy chuckled softly and turned to the girl.

"Natsu." She tilted her head in confusion.

"What?"

"That's my name weirdo!" She pursed her lips and pouted.

"Why didn't you say so before! And don't call me a weirdo! You're the one with pink hair!" A grin came to his face and the boy laughed boisterously. Bringing a smile to her own lips. Both laughing hysterically now. She almost forgot the reason she was there.

The boy's demeanor darkened again and he started wringing his hands in nervousness. "I-I was crying because...well, I was thinking about my dad Igneel. He left me alone in the woods around a month ago. I guess the thought just made me start crying..." Lucy frowned. She had no idea what the poor boy was going through. She had both her parents and they were in a perfect relationship. She had it so much better than a lot of kids she supposed. She looked up the sky and watched as the sun became less and less visible.

"I'm sorry about your dad. I can't imagine what you're going through...what does he look like?" Maybe she could get her father to hire people to search for him! That could really help this boy out. And maybe after then she'll make a friend. It's the perfect plan! What made her stop her scheming was his response.

"He's a red dragon." Her mind went completely blank. What did he just say?

"H-How!?" The boy snickered.

"Well I forget now. I just remember always being with him...he taught me magic, I'm a dragon slayer!" The boy cackled. Lucy's eyes sparkled at the information.

"Really? I'm a mage too! I'm a celestial mage. I use the keys of the zodiac. My mommy says that one day I'll be able to get the keys Cancer and Capricorn. I already have Aquarius, but she's mean."

"Well I can use fire, wanna see?" He asked her suddenly. Lucy nodded feverishly and watched as the boy held his hand in front of her and lit his finger tips on fire. She gasped at the beauty and watched as the flames danced around on his hand and up his arm. It disappeared, the lightning reflecting off her eyes vanishing as well. Young Natsu had noticed the bright and pretty light that appeared in her eyes.

He looked away and rubbed the back of his head. Why was he so nervous all of a sudden? She giggled and went to grab something from her waist when she shook her head. She forgot, her key was at home locked in her mother's safe. So that Lucy wouldn't lose it if she took it into town.

"I would show you my magic, but my key is at home. And I'm sure Aquarius would just yell at me." She whined. Natsu snapped out of his daze and nodded. That's when her father called her name loudly. Lucy squeaked and stood up. "Oh...it seems I have to go..." Natsu frowned but nodded in understanding.

"If you ever want to see me again. Just come to Fairy Tail, I'm a mage there!" He smiled as he stood and planted his hands on her shoulder. Already had picked up her doll, she looked up at him with her large brown eyes.

"Really? You go to Fairy Tail?! I want to be a mage there some day!" Natsu laughed.

"Really, that's great! We'll get to see each other soon then!"

"Lucy! We're leaving!" Her mother called.

"Coming!" Lucy responded. She hugged Natsu before waving while she ran. Only to stop and turn around. Looking down at her dragon, she thought of Igneel. She suspected this toy would serve a better purpose in Natsu's possession. Rather than hers.

Running back she shoved the toy into his arms. "It's like a little Igneel. Please take care of him!" He held the dragon plush closely and gave her a watery expression. Tears gathering in his eyes once more, he grabbed her wrist and hugged her tightly, almost to the point it was crushing her. She returned it fully. She stepped away and gave him a determined smile. "I'll see you around. Definitely."

And then she ran to her family. Briefly looking back at her new friend when she reached the top of the hill. She ran to her mother and jumped into her arms. Noticing the lack of stuffed animal, Layla looked at her daughter.

"Sweety, where is your dragon?"

"I gave it to that boy. He needed it more than I did!" She grinned. Then explaining further about the boy's life and his supposed father. Their parents looked shocked by the news while their daughter only giggled.

"That's what I looked liked!"

...

Natsu came into his cottage, sore and tired. Having just gotten done fighting with Gray. He shrugged off his vest and collapsed onto his hammock. Happy wouldn't be coming home for another hour or so, hanging out with Lucy at her apartment and all. Maybe he should head over there later.

His eyes wondered to the end table across from his hammock. There sat that little igneel plush. For the life of him, he couldn't remember who gave it to him. He remembers a little girl with blonde hair, but he couldn't describe her face if his life depended on it. His mind wondered to his own blonde partner.

Could it be...nah! That's too much of a coincidence for that to be true. And Lucy obviously doesn't remember seeing him when she was younger so that couldn't be the case. But it was a fun theory tothink about. That's when a knock came to his door. His nose picked up Lucy and Happy's scent, his previous thoughts disappearing.

"Natsu, if you're cat is going to come over you might as well come over too!" She whined in annoyance. Natsu's lips split into a wide smile and he stepped out of house and led his two teammates to the guild to get some food. Lucy synced to his step and they walked in a comfortable silence. She turned to him with her big sparkling eyes, and furrowed her brows.

"What?" He asked innocently.

"You're too quiet. Why aren't you proudly boasting to me about how you kicked Gray's ass?" He studied her face. Then a thought came to his head. It didn't matter if the girl was really Lucy when she was younger, she was here now. With him, and that's all that matters. He wrapped his arm around her neck and brought her close to him. She squirmed while they walked and scolded him for scaring her.

"You really are a weirdo!"

"I'm not weird!"


End file.
